Schools That Reform

In the past some children who had many problems in their lives went to live
in a "reform school." Sometimes the problem was their behavior
at home or at school. Others lived on their own and made trouble in the town.
Still others were simply very poor or had no parents due to death or poverty.

These schools were called "reformed schools" because their purposes
was to change, or "reform," the child. Everything we do and all
that happens to us makes us who we are. We are the product of our friendships,
our families, our activities and our learning. These blend together to "form" us
and give us our identity.

Reform schools were places to live. They provided
educational classes and religious lessons for the children. Sometimes the
children who came to live in a reform school made friends and were satisfied
to live there. Other times they were very unhappy and ran away.

An Early Reform School

Iowa's first reform school was in Lee County. It was built in 1868 and was
the second reform school in the country. It was called Glenwood. Boys there
learned how to make shoes and clothing. Like many early schools of this type,
Glenwood had a farm. The boys helped with the farming. Some of the produce
was used for their meals, and some of it was sold. They also learned school
subjects.

Each boy worked four hours and attended school four hours. On Saturday afternoons
the boys played. On Sunday they went to church and had outings.

The goal was to reform rather than to punish. A trust system was used on
the boys instead of "bolts and bars." This worked well. A report
in 1871 said that none of the boys ran away from the school.

Education was more than school subjects and job
skills. The adults gave moral leadership. And they taught the children to
keep themselves clean, to be polite, and to use good manners.

The Girls' School

An early reform school for girls was in Mitchellville. For 17 years Lorenzo
and Angie Lewelling, ran the school at Mitchellville. The Lewellings were
Quakers. Lorenzo was a minister. The Lewellings taught and guided the girls.
Even after the girls left the school, Angie wrote to them. In the school's
first 30 years, 804 girls lived at Mitchellville. Most of the girls were
called "incorrigible."

Most of the girls were from poor families and had lost one or both parents
through death or divorce. Sometimes when families had sudden problems, such
as a lost job or a death in the family, a daughter was sent to Mitchellville
because the family couldn't afford to keep her. One girl was from a wealthy
family. She had tried to poison a stepparent. Most of them were 13 to 15
years old, though there were some as young as seven. Many of the girls had
once lived on their own as maids or workers in button, candy or cigar factories.
Three had traveled with acting groups.

Good and Bad Experiences

Reform schools in Iowa provided
a place for children with problems. In some cases the young people who attended
the schools had no place else to go. Some of the children who were forced
to attend Iowa's reform schools had good experiences and ended up having
good lives as adults. But for others the reform school experience was bad.
The reform schools of the past were the beginnings of the juvenile court
system in Iowa.